This is the tale that began in 2006 in my first year of beekeeping in Atlanta, GA. ...there's still so much to learn.

Welcome - Explore my Blog

I've been keeping this blog for all of my beekeeping years and I began my 12th year of beekeeping in April 2017. Now there are almost 1300posts on this blog. Please use the search bar below to search the blog for other posts on a subject in which you are interested. You can also click on the "label" at the end of a post and all posts with that label will show up. At the very bottom of this page is a list of all the labels I've used.

Even if you find one post on the subject, I've posted a lot on basic beekeeping skills like installing bees, harvesting honey, inspecting the hive, etc. so be sure to search for more once you've found a topic of interest to you. And watch the useful videos and slide showson the sidebar. All of them have captions. Please share posts of interest via Facebook, Pinterest, etc.

I began this blog to chronicle my beekeeping experiences. I have read lots of beekeeping books, but nothing takes the place of either hands-on experience with an experienced beekeeper or good pictures of the process. I want people to have a clearer picture of what to expect in their beekeeping so I post pictures and write about my beekeeping saga here. Along the way, I've passed a number of certification levels and am now a Master Beekeeper Enjoy with me as I learn and grow as a beekeeper.

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Thursday, June 30, 2011

First Date with the Solar Wax Melter

Yesterday was my first date this year with the solar wax melter. I set it out before I left of work and when I returned at the end of the day, the wax had all melted and filtered through the paper towel. I couldn't find one of my industrial strength rubber bands and the flimsy rubber band I used had popped during the process (see below)

But this wax from Lenox Pointe is light and beautiful. The advantage of foundationless frames is that all new wax from honey combs (not just capping wax) melts to look like this. Brood wax is always darker and not as pretty - but wax from comb holding honey is gorgeous.

Here the disk is popped out and sitting on a paper towel.

Happy with my first date, I balled up the cleaned wax from the Stonehurst four frame harvest and set the wax melter up to work again today.

Sometimes the melting wax wicks down through the paper towel and accumulates on the foil below the container. I found a new container with more surface area - I'm hoping this will be an even better result with less wicking.

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Linda in her beesuit

Atlanta Beekeeping Meetup Group

7 PM on the third Tuesday of the month at the First Baptist Church of Sandy Springs (650 Mount Vernon Highway NE, Sandy Springs, GA). Want to talk bees with like-minded beekeepers who want to discuss things about bees?

Join us for interesting discussions about keeping bees in the many ways that people do. Click here to find our Meetup group page.

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Great Quote from Richard Taylor, beekeeper and writer

"There are a few rules of thumb that are useful guides. One is that when you are confronted with some problem in the apiary and you do not know what to do, then do nothing. Matters are seldom made worse by doing nothing and are often made much worse by inept intervention." --The How-To-Do-It book of Beekeeping, Richard Taylor

Blog Visitors from All Over the World

Since I added this counter in May 2009, visitors have come to this site from 209 countries - the most recent being Guinea! The top four countries from which visitors come are the US, Great Britain, Canada, and Australia with Turkey and Greece close behind.

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Thanks for visiting my blog and following my beekeeping adventure!

This site is listed on many websites across the country as a good site for beginners to visit. Blogger tells me that there are over 1300 posts on this blog for you to explore. There are slide shows and videos on the sidebar addressing beekeeping challenges like harvesting, solar wax melters, and doing hive inspections.

I may have already addressed a bee issue which is on your mind. The search feature will send you to the most recent post on a subject. Be sure to keep looking because I've posted a lot on many issues. Use the Google search feature on this page will help you search this site to find posts dealing with your question.

Feel free to email me with your comments or questions; "pin" my posts; or share them on Facebook.